Megaderma spasma
Silhouette: T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The lesser false vampire bat (Megaderma spasma) is a bat found in South Asia and Southeast Asia from Sri Lanka and India in the west to Indonesia and the Philippines in the east. They live in caves and tree hollows. They are insectivorous.
The lesser false vampire bat has a wingspan of up to 30 centimetres (12 in) and have a head-and-body length of around 10 centimetres (3.9 in). Their forearms are normally around 7 centimetres (2.8 in). The lesser false vampire bat has yellowish veins through the wing, and when the wings are spread with light behind, they are given a prominent yellow/orange tinge. Their body colour ranges from grey-brown to blue-brown. Lesser false vampire bats live in rock crevices, caves, foliage and hollow trees, depending on availability, as well as hanging and sleeping on trees in general.
M. spasma has fur pale grey to grey-brown in colour. Its noseleaf has long dorsal lobe with stiffened central ridge and broad convex flaps on the sides. Its ears are very large, joined at the base and it has no visible tail. Its echolocation pulses are short, low in density and broadband and its large ears are sensitive to echoes returning from their pulses... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Way Kambas National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 2 | Tangkoko Nature Reserve | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | Tanjung Puting National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 4 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 5 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
No species of the same family or order lives in Way Kambas National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other mammals.
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser false vampire bat sighting in Way Kambas National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 9 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser false vampire bat in Way Kambas National Park on a given day, against about 10% in September, the lowest month. That is one of Way Kambas National Park's driest months, with about 120 mm of rain against 370 mm in March. March and December–January have too few records to rate.
Between 4 and 7 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lesser false vampire bat sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Yes
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Lesser false vampire bat sightings, Way Kambas National Park has the highest daily chance: about 50%. Next come Tangkoko Nature Reserve (Indonesia, about 30%) and Tanjung Puting National Park (Indonesia, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lesser false vampire bat is recorded against all the mammals logged in Way Kambas National Park (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
